It's that time of year...our Christmas Critics issue is now on the website, and it features twenty-five book reccomendations from Priscilla McMillan, Michael Walsh, Molly Redden, Paul Lakeland, Joe and Margot Fassler, and Ingrid Roland—a great crop of new histories, memoirs, novels, biographies, poetry collections (even comic books) and some old favorites. 

Other highlights from the issue:

Jo McGowan reflects on public perception versus real experience of parents with disabled children ("Don't Beatify Us").

Daniel K. Finn explains how being poor is like being too busy ("Understanding Scarcity"). 

And Rand Richards Cooper explains why Listen Up Philip was "one of the most dissatisfying experiences [he's] had in a while":

Characters don't interact; rather, they stand morosely in the same space and trade enigmatic remarks like "I want you to contextualize my sadness," then wander off to feel sorry for themselves. The film is periously static.

Plus: more on POLST; Christian death and trust; and a not-so-pious poem for the holidays. Read the full table of contents here. Enjoy!